Stocks jump: Dow, S&P, Nasdaq back in black for 2015
Stocks broke a two-day losing streak and closed higher Tuesday as the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all jumped back into the black for 2015.
Wall Street was encouraged by an earnings beat by Coca-Cola and signs that the chill in negotiations between Greece and its European creditors has thawed slightly.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 139.55 points, or 0.8%, to close at 17,868.76.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 21.85 points, or 1.1%, to 2068.59 and the Nasdaq composite added 61.63 points, or 1.3%, to 4787.64.
Dow component Coca-Cola (KO) gave the blue-chip index a nice boost as shares jumped 2.8% after the soft drink giant beat earnings estimates.
General Motors (GM) gained 4% after an activist investor said he would seek a seat on the company's board and intended to push for a stock buyback.
Energy stocks fell as the price of benchmark U.S. crude dropped $2.84 to close at $50.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The drop came as the International Energy Agency said that the rebound prices in recent days of the oil price "will be comparatively limited in scope."
Analysts at Citigroup said the recent rebound in oil prices would likely to prove short-lived and predicted that rising inventory costs could push the price of oil as low as $20 a barrel.
Wall Street, of course, has become jittery amid fears that talks between Greece's new leaders and its creditors would falter, a development that would cause fresh turbulence for global markets as it could end in a Greek default or its exit from the Eurozone.
However, there are now rumors -- cited for instance by Alex Eppstein with Schaeffer's Investment Research, in a morning note to investors -- that debt-strapped Greece could get an extension of six months.
In a research note before the market open on Wall Street, Bespoke told its clients: "Per chatter this morning, the Greeks will be given an extension of about six months, along with lower austerity requirements and a more tenable austerity package."
Still, the Greek debt talks remain fluid ahead of a key meeting of European finance ministers, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
European benchmarks ended mixed. The DAX of Germany rose 0.9% to 10.753.83 and France's CAC 40 gained 1% to 4695.65. Britain's FTSE ended 0.1% in the red, but off session lows of earlier in the day.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.3% to close at 17,652.68. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was basically flat and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.5% to 3141.59.
Contributing: The Associated Press